1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of producing a toner for developing latent electrostatic images. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for producing toner particles with a minimum amount of excessively fine particles by the application of a reduced energy.
2. Discussion of Background
Image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine, printer, and facsimile machine output a recording image in such a manner that latent electrostatic images are formed on a latent-image-bearing member and the latent electrostatic images are developed with a developer into visible images. A dry developer unit employing a powdered toner is widely used in the above-mentioned image forming apparatus.
In line with the development of a digital copying machine and a laser printer, the developer unit is required to produce high quality images. In particular, output of high quality images with a density of 300 dpi has currently become the mainstream in the field of printers. Further advance of the image density to 480 dpi and 600 dpi is expected.
Under such circumstances, severe control for obtaining small toner particle size is inevitable. However, the toner particles with small particle diameters tend to aggregate and adhere to each other, so that such toner particles cannot be easily sent to a development section from a toner replenishment section in the course of development of latent electrostatic images. The toner particles cannot be sufficiently transferred to a photoconductor from the development section, with the result that the image density decreases and defective image transfer easily occurs. Such a phenomenon becomes noticeable as the size of toner particles decreases. In other words, the particle size of the toner for developing latent electrostatic images is required to be smaller, while the toner particles without containing excessively fine particles are expected. Further, from the viewpoint of energy-saving, there is an increasing demand for reduction of energy required to produce the toner particles.
To meet the above-mentioned demands, many proposals are made as shown below.
(1) Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 6-59507
A raw material for toner is ground using a special impact mill to control the particle size distribution of the obtained toner.
(2) Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 5-313414
A raw material for toner is coarsely crushed using a mechanical mill, and the crushed particles are then subjected to fine grinding using a jet mill. In this case, the particle size of the coarse product supplied to the jet mill is controlled in advance to increase the yield.
(3) Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 10-18517
One grinding system including an impact mill and the other grinding system including a mechanical mill are reversibly connected to establish a grinding system. The order of the steps consisting of the two grinding systems may be changed in accordance with the application to improve the production efficiency.
(4) Japanese Patent Publication No. 8-10350
A toner raw material is coarsely crushed, and thereafter the coarse product is subjected to secondary grinding to have a weight mean diameter of 20 to 60 xcexcm using an impact mill. The ground particles are finally pulverized using a jet mill. According to this method, the content of the particles with a weight mean diameter of 100 xcexcm or more is controlled to 1 to 20% in the particles obtained by secondary grinding.
(5) Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 7-92728
A magnetic toner is prepared using a binder resin, a magnetic material, and a wax. A mixture of the above-mentioned raw materials is subjected to grinding by use of a mechanical mill to satisfy the relationships of 7 xcexcmxe2x89xa6D4 less than 20 xcexcm and 1 less than D4/D1xe2x89xa63.5, where D4 is a weight mean diameter and D1 is a length base mean diameter. After such mechanical milling, fine pulverizing is carried out by use of an impact mill.
(6) Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 6-186776
A toner raw material is ground using an impact mill which is provided with a grinding section where a stator having numerous wavelike protrusions on the inner surface of the stator and a rotator having numerous wavelike protrusions on the outer surface of the rotator are disposed with a minute gap therebetween. This method aims to reduce the generation of excessively fine particles.
The conventional methods for producing the toner as mentioned above still generate a considerable amount of excessively fine particles. In particular, when fine pulverizing is carried out using a jet mill, an increase in the amount of excessively fine particles is unavoidable.
Therefore, an additional device becomes necessary to remove the excessively fine particles, and the required energy is unfavorably increased.
Accordingly, it is a first object of the present invention to provide a method of producing a toner for developing latent electrostatic images at a reduced energy, with generation of excessively fine particles being minimized.
The inventors of the present invention have intensively studied a preliminarily ground product (hereinafter referred to as a pre-ground product) in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. As a result, it has been found that a toner can be prepared at a reduced energy with minimum generation of excessively fine particles by specifying a particular particle diameter and particle size distribution in the pre-ground product. The present invention has been accomplished based on the above-mentioned finding.
Namely, the first object of the present invention can be achieved by a method of producing a toner for developing latent electrostatic images, comprising the steps of preliminarily grinding a toner composition comprising at least a binder resin and a coloring agent to prepare a preliminarily ground product, and finely pulverizing the preliminarily ground product using a pulverizer to produce toner particles, wherein the preliminarily ground product satisfies conditions (1) and (2):
Dvxe2x89xa7D10xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1) 
D50 less than 3D10xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(2) 
wherein Dv is a weight mean diameter of the preliminarily ground product, D10 is a weight mean diameter when the cumulative number of particles reaches 10% at measurement of a cumulative particle distribution, and D50 is a weight mean diameter when the cumulative number of particles reaches 50% at measurement of the cumulative particle distribution.
A toner is usually prepared by mixing raw materials and fusing and kneading the mixture using an extruder to prepare a toner composition. Thereafter, the toner composition is cooled and pulverized, so that a desired toner is obtained. In the pulverizing process, the toner composition is first subjected to coarse crushing, then secondary grinding, and finally fine pulverizing. Fine toner particles excessively pulverized will cause deposition on the background, while large toner particles not sufficiently ground will induce defective toner image transfer. In other words, the pulverizing process is remarkably important.
The toner composition for use in the present invention comprises at least a binder resin and a coloring agent.
Any conventional resins used as the binder resins are usable.
Examples of the binder resin for use in the toner composition include polystyrene resin, styrenexe2x80x94acrylic acid copolymer, styrenexe2x80x94methacrylic acid copolymer, styrenexe2x80x94acrylate copolymer, styrenexe2x80x94methacrylate copolymer, polyester resin, epoxy resin, polyamide resin, and poly(vinyl acetal) resin.
As the coloring agent for use in the toner, carbon black, benzidine yellow pigment, acetoacetanilide-insoluble azo dye, azomethylene dye, and other conventional coloring agent can be used.
The mixing ratio of the binder resin to the coloring agent is not particularly limited, but is preferably in the range of (80:20) to (99:1), more preferably in the range of (90:10) to (95:5).
When the ratio by weight of the binder resin is less than 80%, there is a risk that the dispersion properties and the charging characteristics of the obtained toner will degrade. On the other hand, when the binder resin is contained in an amount ratio by weight of more than 99%, the color of toner becomes too thin.
The total amount of the binder resin and the coloring agent is usually in the range of 90 to 97 wt. %, preferably 92 to 96 wt. % of the entire weight of the toner composition.
The toner composition is prepared by kneading, dispersing, and fusing a mixture of the binder resin and the coloring agent using a roll mill or a kneader. In the course of the kneading step, the temperature may be controlled to the melting point of the employed binder resin.
The toner composition may further comprise a charge control agent, a releasant, and an external additive.
The toner composition thus obtained is cooled and subjected to rolling when necessary. Then, the cooled toner composition is preliminarily ground. The use of an impact mill is preferable for the preliminary grinding step.
As the impact mill for preliminary grinding, there can be employed commercially available mills, for example, xe2x80x9cAP Pulverizerxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cFitz Millxe2x80x9d (trademarks of Hosokawa Micron Corporation), and mills with a classification mechanism, for example, xe2x80x9cACM Pulverizerxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cVertech Millxe2x80x9d (trademarks of Hosokawa Micron Corporation).
Generally, the impact mill has a grinding chamber at a minute gap between a rotor supported on a revolving shaft and a cylinder in which the rotor is fitted. The rotor is provided with numerous protrusions continuously disposed on the outer surface in a peripheral direction of the rotor. The cylinder has numerous protrusions continuously formed on the inner surface in a peripheral direction of the cylinder. An impact mill provided with a classification mechanism is preferably employed in the present invention.
The pre-ground product obtained by preliminary grinding is then finely pulverized to produce toner particles. In the present invention, the preliminary grinding step is carried out to satisfy the following conditions (1) and (2):
Dvxe2x89xa7D10xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1) 
D50 less than 3D10xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(2) 
wherein Dv is the weight mean diameter of the pre-ground product, D10 is the particle diameter when the cumulative number of particles of the pre-ground product reaches 10% at the measurement of the cumulative particle distribution by weight, and D50 is a particle diameter when the cumulative number of particles of the pre-ground product reaches 50% at the measurement of the cumulative particle distribution by weight.
By controlling the particle diameter and the cumulative particle size distribution so as to satisfy the above-mentioned conditions (1) and (2), generation of excessively fine particles can be prevented after the pre-ground product is subjected to final fine pulverizing even by use of a jet mill. Thus, toner particles can be produced with a high yield.
In the final fine pulverizing, the kind of mill is not particular limited, but a jet mill or mechanical mill is preferably employed.
To be more specific about the above-mentioned conditions (1) and (2), D10 (or D50) is determined by successively accumulating the particles of the pre-ground product in an ascending order of particle diameter and finding the particle diameter when the weight of the accumulated particles reaches 10% (or 50%) of the entire weight of the pre-ground product.
The weight mean diameter is measured by Coulter counter method. The measurement is carried out using a commercially available measuring apparatus made by Coulter Electronics Ltd. A 1% aqueous solution of a first class sodium chloride is prepared as an electrolyte. A surfactant, preferably alkylbenzenesulfonate, is added in an amount of 0.5 to 5 ml as a dispersant to 10 to 15 ml of the above-mentioned electrolyte. The sample particles in an amount of 2 to 20 mg are put in the electrolyte, followed by ultrasonic dispersion for about 1 to 3 minutes.
100 to 200 ml of the electrolyte is placed in another beaker. To this electrolyte, the above prepared dispersion of the sample particles is added so as to have a predetermined concentration. The number base particle size distribution ranging from 2 to 40 xcexcm is measured using the xe2x80x9cCoulter Counterxe2x80x9d with a 100-xcexcm aperture. The weight base distribution and the number base distribution are calculated, and the weight mean diameter is obtained from the weight base distribution using the center value of each channel.
It is preferable that the weight mean diameter Dv of the pre-ground product be 5 to 300 xcexcm, and more preferably 10 to 250 xcexcm. When the weight mean diameter Dv of the pre-ground product is less than 5 xcexcm, the amount of excessively fine particles increases to lower the yield of the toner particles. On the other hand, when the weight mean diameter Dv of the pre-ground product exceeds 300 xcexcm, the grinding power required for final pulverizing is unfavorably increased.
When Dv is less than D10, the amount of excessively fine particles increases, thereby lowering the yield of a toner as the final product. When D50 exceeds 3D10, the grinding power required for the final fine pulverizing step unfavorably increases.
It largely depends upon the kind of resin, the composition ratios of components for a toner, kneaded condition of the resin, and the type of mill used for preliminary grinding whether the preliminary grinding step can generate a pre-ground product that can satisfy the above-mentioned conditions (1) and (2). Therefore, setting of appropriate conditions becomes of great importance.
In particular, with respect to the type of mill used for preliminary grinding, the kind of liner, the kind of rotor, the peripheral speed of the pulverizing rotor, and the temperature at the outlet are significant factors to determine the conditions (1) and (2).
For instance, when a polyester resin, a styrenexe2x80x94acryl copolymer resin, and carbon are mixed to prepare a toner composition, the toner composition is fused and kneaded in a roll mill, and cooled and rolled. Thereafter, the toner composition is subjected to preliminary grinding by use of the commercially available impact mill xe2x80x9cACM Pulverizerxe2x80x9d (trademark), made by Hosokawa Micron Corporation. The above-mentioned pulverizer is provided with a grooved liner and a bar-shaped pulverizing rotor. In this case, the peripheral speed of the pulverizing rotor is preferably 110 to 125 m/s, and the temperature at the outlet is preferably 30 to 35xc2x0 C.
After the preliminary grinding step mentioned above, the pre-ground product is finely pulverized, thereby obtaining a toner according to the present invention.
The final fine pulverizing is carried out using a jet mill or mechanical mill.
As the jet mill for final fine pulverizing, commercially available jet mills under the trademark of xe2x80x9cSuper Sonic Jet Mill Type Ixe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cSuper Sonic Jet Mill Type IDSxe2x80x9d provided with type DS Classifier, made by Nippon Pneumatic Mfg. Co., Ltd., and a commercially available ultra fine pulverizer xe2x80x9cMicron Jetxe2x80x9d made by Hosokawa Micron Corporation are preferably employed.
The above-mentioned jet mill provided with a classifier is a closed system by the combination of a pulverizer and a classifier. Coarse particles are removed from the pre-ground product by the classifier and returned to the pulverizer until a desired particle diameter required for a toner as the final product is obtained. In this jet mill, the pre-ground product is sucked using jet stream of air, accelerated and made collide with a target plate forcibly.
As the mechanical mill, there can be employed commercially available mills xe2x80x9cTurbo Millxe2x80x9d (trademark), made by Turbo Kogyo Co., Ltd.; xe2x80x9cSuper Rotorxe2x80x9d (trademark), made by Nisshin Engineering Co., Ltd.; and xe2x80x9cKryptronxe2x80x9d (trademark), made by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.
The mechanical mill is composed of a rotor rotating at a high speed and a liner with numerous grooves. A pre-ground product is pulverized at a gap between the rotor and the liner by relative rotation, and further finely pulverized by means of jet stream and cyclone of air generated behind the rotor and between the grooves of the liner.
It is preferable that the grinding power required for the final fine pulverizing be 0.3 to 1.5 kwxc2x7h/kgxc2x7h. Such a relatively low grinding power can contribute to the improvement of production efficiency.
Finally, a pulverized product can be obtained after the step of finely pulverizing the pre-ground product in the above-mentioned manner. The pulverized product thus obtained has a weight mean diameter of 5 to 20 xcexcm, preferably 7 to 12 xcexcm, containing excessively fine particles with a weight mean diameter of 5 xcexcm or less in an amount of 50% or less in terms of the number of particles. When the toner for developing latent electrostatic images can be prepared in the form of the above-mentioned pulverized product, the yield of the toner product is as high as 75% or more.
Other features of this invention will become apparent in the course of the following description of exemplary embodiments, which are given for illustration of the invention and are not intended to be limiting thereof.